Two Twenty Two's Daisy Coole joins She Takes Over Talks at BITE Live 2020

Daisy Coole of composer duo Two Twenty Two joined the first of adam&eveDDB’s speaker series, #SheTakesOverTalks at BITE LIVE 2020. Led by Laura Rogers, the Founder of She Takes Over and Global Creative Director for Unilever at adam&eveDDB, they were joined by the award-winning director Meena Ayittey and Maruska and Donna-Marie Mason, a photography duo who are partners in both life and creativity.

The conversation with underlined the need to showcase and amplify the creative work of women in the midst of the coronavirus crisis:

"The power of community is something that has been pervasive across the creative industries as the crisis has only lengthened. It’s something that Coole in particular was pleased to notice because, as she says, “I’m a passionate believer in community and collaboration.” She points to the rise in community connections fostered by platforms like Free the Bid, Equal Lens and the Alliance for Women Film Composers that encourage diverse hiring practices, something Coole says is an essential step in allyship.

She explains: “There’s been a real rise in the sense of community and I see that a lot online where people are really actively sharing each other’s work and I think that’s really beautiful and a really important thing we can do.” She has felt uplifted watching composers working with one another on projects as well as moving to simply lift each other up. “That feels like it’s been a really positive change in such a strange year,” she adds.

Coole wants to remind people that, “you are not on your own. There is always a community. [And] maybe you’re the one to bring that corner of creativity together.”

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KEY TAKE OUTS

The power of collective action. Ultimately, She Takes Over was created by adam&eveDDB to channel the power of collective amplification. It’s about building a platform to promote young female talent and inviting the agency’s partners to do the same. As Laura Rogers, Global Creative Director for Unilever at adam&eveDDB, says, “what we wanted to do was elevate those people, increase their visibility so no one has an excuse to say they can’t find anyone.”

New voices elevate creativity. Fundamentally for Rogers it always comes back to the work, a belief that is echoed by every panellist. “Our role as creative people is to be surprising and different and the best way to get that is about bringing in new voices,” she says.

Amplifying talent lifts everyone up. Maruska and Donna-Marie Mason, a photography duo, spoke passionately about the importance of diversifying the teams invited into the set; of checking with younger talent and offering them mentorship and advice where needed. It’s something that the composer Daisy Coole, Co-Founder of Two Twenty Two, says she felt uplifted by: “people are really actively sharing each other’s work and I think that’s really beautiful and a really important thing we can do.”

Speak up and out for diversity. Award-winning director Meena Ayittey believes that allyship comes from using your voice to speak up and out for diversity in all its forms. “If you want to be an ally and part of the progress it’s about being vocal and taking action and that means often having uncomfortable conversations,” she says. While she acknowledges people often don’t want to be in a position that rocks the boat, she believes more harm is done by not saying anything at all.

Everyone is part of a community. The power of community is something that has been pervasive across the creative industries as the crisis has only lengthened. It’s something that Coole in particular was pleased to notice because, as she wants to remind people, “you are not on your own. There is always a community. [And] maybe you’re the one to bring that corner of creativity together.”

Don’t lose your creativity. What every panellist emphasised was the importance of creating, even in spite of the turbulent times we’re living through. This was a point particularly made by the Masons who wanted to invite people to find out what truly matters and use that as a strong foundation on which to build. “Don’t lose your creativity in this time. Find your niche and what you're passionate about and stick to it,” advises Maruskya Mason.

To read a full write up of the event, visit the dedicated BITE page, She Takes Over Talks: Recognise and represent